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Cosplayer gathering at GamesCom attempts to break Guinness record
Over 400 cosplayers are expected to gather and break the Guinness record for "The Largest Gathering of Games Characters" today at GamesCom. We were looking forward to telling you if they broke the MCM London record of 376 characters ... but we forgot one little detail: Um, all those people need to be officially counted and that seems to take a really long time.With a couple Guinness representatives on hand, each cosplayer has to write down the name of their character and respective game. Following that, a photo gets taken and then they get to bake in the summer sun -- waiting for everyone else to be counted. We felt really bad for the Tetris pieces! We'll update when we get the official count.Update: It failed.%Gallery-70732%
Latest Pokemon movie sets Guinness World Record
Japan recently received its 12th Pokémon animated feature in Arceus: To The Conquering of Space-Time. Even before its July 18 release, the film showed that the power of Pokemans is still strong in Japan by shattering records. The Escapist reports that pre-sales of tickets were at insane levels, with 2,384,198 eager movie-goers signing up, enough to net it a Guinness World Record for most advanced sales of an animated feature. Heck, not even that many people bought Pokémon Platinum when it released!
Guinness World Record wailed on and then smashed for Brutal Legend
440 European fans of the upcoming heavy metal-inspired game Brütal Legend got together in Leicestershire, UK this past weekend to, well, fake-play guitar all at the same time. During the metal heavy 2009 Download Festival, the game's publisher EA organized attendees clad in Brütal Legend shirts around its "EA hub" and began the faux rocking while an "official adjudicator from the Guinness Book of World Records" oversaw the whole schebang. Though we're wary of fans of games that aren't even released yet, it's hard for us to deny our love for Tim Schafer's latest project. We'll let you slide this time, strange publicity grab, but next time you're gettin' a ticket, ya hear?
Seen@E3: Infinity Ward accepts Call of Duty 4 Guinness record
Activision's booth yesterday played host to more than just sweaty gamers and DJ Hero videos: Call of Duty 4-developer Infinity Ward was rewarded with a Guinness World Record for "the most popular online console game" citing the fact that it's been played "been played by over 13 million gamers on Xbox Live since its launch in November 2007." So, you mean to tell us that CoD4 took that honor without even including the PlayStation Network community? Dayum! Pic of that certificate after the break. Congrats, IW!
Fuel sets Guinness record as biggest console game ever
Codemasters' Fuel is big, and while some may argue that size doesn't matter, they're probably just jealous of the open-world racer's immense girth. In fact, the upcoming off-road racing game was recently crowned by Guinness World Records for having the largest playable environment in a console game ever with 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain. To help us wrap our heads around how big that is, the Codies say that's larger than Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. Let's just hope developer Asobo (pictured) remembers to fill all that space with enough to do, else it's going to be a very long and boring ride. Are we there yet? %Gallery-45506%
T-Mobile forgets the "un" in "unlimited," accidentally sticks texting record attempt with $26K bill
Most buddies like to while away the hours by, say, fishing down by the docks; maybe catch the game and put down a few brewskis. You know, standard-issue stuff. On the opposite end of the spectrum are Nick Andes and Doug Klinger -- 29 and 30, respectively -- who decided that they'd try to shatter the one-month texting record by exchanging a whopping 217,000 messages, most of which were apparently meaningless garbage like "LOL" and "hello" (why they weren't able to maintain a deep, emotionally healthy conversation for the duration of 216,000 consecutive 160-character communiques is beyond us). Both men figured they were golden since they'd added unlimited texting plans to their accounts, so imagine Andes' surprise when he received a bill in a box -- complete with $27.55 in postage -- on his doorstep. Inside he found a grand total charge of $26 grand -- and while we totally think that a Guinness record is worth $26 grand, you can imagine that a couple Joe Sixpacks from Philly had never intended to blow five figures on a bunch of "LOLs" exchanged during lunch breaks. All's well that ends well, though, and T-Mobile credited the account and is investigating how it happened; let's just hope that record gets certified now, eh?
House of the Dead: Overkill has most swearing ever
Well, f**k yeah! Though it may not be the sales record we were hoping for, the absolutely G** ***n awesome House of the Dead: Overkill has made it to the top of a list. It's just been honored by Guinness World Records as having the most profanity of any game ever. 189 "f**ks". Count 'em.Here's hoping some of you mother f*****g sons of b*****s actually get out there and buy the G** ***n game for f**k's sake. So p****ing help us, if that r***er isn't on the j**ing sales chart, we're going to take a giant n***b all over you faces. El S****, if you will.
'108 Street Fighter wins' record has eerie significance
The number of stitches on a baseball. The number of prayer beads strung together to form a mala. The number of minutes in which Desmond had to press that damn button again and again. And, the new Guinness World Record for consecutive Street Figther IV wins. What do these seemingly unrelated phenomena have in common? The Number 108 ... <dramatic music> DUN DUN DUHHNNN </dramatic music> The UK's Zak Bennett has sealed his inseparable fate to this sacred number by setting the SFIV record at a London launch event last Friday, now confirms Guinness World Records. Initially, Bennett was defeated after only 28 consecutive wins, but even that was enough to break the previous record -- set at a paltry 10 wins. Still, something inspired him to try again. In his second attempt, Bennett would not be defeated for 108 consecutive matches. (Guinness did not confirm, however, just what caliber of opponents Bennett faced during his immaculate run.) Quick! Someone make this kid's Wikipedia bullet point.Source - Street Fighter Savant To Set New Guinness World Record [Press Release]Source - Guinness World Records Gamers Edition 2009 [Press Release]
Guinness World Records : The Trailer
We've just received a new trailer for upcoming minigame compilation Guiness World Records: The Video Game. It was kind of a sleeper hit for this blogger at E3. Despite it being a minigame compilation, which usually elicits a rolling of the eyes, it managed to impress through some fun scenarios and tight controls. [Via press release]
News from the Wider MMO World: August 26, 2008
The MMO genre is more than World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online. Here's what's going on in the rest of the world.Mabinogi welcomes Generation 3The MMO that bills itself as "your fantasy life" has gotten its next upgrade with Generation 3. Now Mabinogi players will have the ability to marry each other, complete with license and wedding attire for both genders. An overarching quest will require warriors to recover dungeon seals to prevent the Fomor from entering the world. And finally, the pet system gets an overhaul, with new interactions, behaviors, and controls. The removal of the combat cap, increased UI options, and new items all await players in Generation 3.Neocron 2 developer declares insolvency10Tacle Studios AG, parent company of Reakktor Media GmbH, developers of Neocron 2, declared insolvency on August 6th. They are awaiting an insolvency administrator to determine what will happen with the game servers. In a later update to the original forum post, Kirk Lenke, CEO of Reakktor Media announced that the insolvency will not affect business operation of Neocron 2, and that they are still in development for upcoming title Black Prophecy.
Hideo Kojima celebrated for inventing stealth games
Hideo Kojima's has been in London this week, not just for the signing of pre-release MGS4 sleeves at HMV Oxford Street, but also to pick up a couple of Guinness World Record certificates. Kojima will be featured in the new Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008 with two achievements to his name. First, for creating Metal Gear Solid 2, the best selling stealth game on the PS2 to date. His second achievement is for inventing stealth games in the first place with Metal Gear Solid 1 on the original PlayStation. Two prestigious awards, indeed. The Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008 is on shelves now.[Via Press Release]
It's official: Mega Man is the most milked series ever
In the recent "Gamer's Edition" Guinness World Records book, the Mega Man series was certified with the record of "Most Number of Games in a Single Series." That's not too hard to believe -- there were about a million Mega Man games in the main series and various spinoff series before the DS, and the DS games have been coming in multiples.What's most amusing about this record is that, according to Capcom's blog, Guinness arrived at it without even considering all the Mega Man games -- basically, they failed to arrive at a full count, and Mega Man still beat other series. They didn't just forget Japan-only releases like Wily & Right no Rockboard, either -- Mega Man Soccer failed to make the list, and that was a U.S.-released game starring the original Blue Bomber. No doubt it omits Hi-Tech Expressions' Mega Man and Mega Man III as well.
Cosplayer gathering breaks Guinness record (where none existed)
The Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition succeeded in recording the "The Largest Gathering of Games Characters" (cosplayers) at the Millennium Bridge in London this morning. Considering there was no record before, the gathering of 80 cosplayers beat the former record by a lot. Gamespot UK braved the brisk weather to take photos of the event and even participate.Hopefully the next time Guinness decides to hold an official gathering they'll give a little more warning and hold it at any video game or cosplay convention where the meager turnout of 80 will be blown away. Might we suggest PAX for the next attempt? Oh well, nice first attempt, congrats to all who participated!
WoW in the Guinness Book of World Records
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/WoW_is_in_the_Guinness_Book_of_World_Records_for_alcohol'; I'd like to propose a toast to WoW for setting a new world record. Yahoo News Canada has announced the first Gamer's Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records is due out on March 11, 2008. World of Warcraft's distinction? The world's largest virtual beerfest. Brewfest, in honor of Oktoberfest, is probably one of the most fun seasonal events in game. This event features festive food and beverages, along with fabulous rewards for participation. Every autumn, characters gather together from all over Azeroth to stoutly defend their treasured kegs from Dark Iron Dwarves. According to an informal Breakfast Topic poll, the most coveted prize for this event is the legendary (or at least epic) Brewfest Ram. Since WoW is hands down the most popular MMORPG on the planet it will like pop up all over the the Gamers Guiness Book of World Records. For now, here's to Brewfest!
Guinness book of gaming records coming in February
Think you've got the fastest speed run of Sonic the Hedgehog's Green Hills Zone? The highest single-quarter score on Galaga? The most legendary hip-hop masterpiece on Kriss Kross: Make my Video? Sure, you can make these claims on the boundless boasting box known as the internet, but there's never been a method of truly officializing your universal gaming dominance. Until now, that is.The Guinness World Records company recently announced that they would begin releasing a Gamer's Edition of their wildly popular series of books on a yearly basis, the first of which will be available at most games retailers on February 8. The book will focus on fast completion times, sales records, and various record setting gameplay elements. Check out their interactive preview of the book -- maybe you'll see one of your own gaming achievements, and wonder if it's a fitting reward for the hundreds of hours you spent mastering the pixel-perfect jumps in world 1-2.
Folding@home and PS3 reach Guinness Records
Folding@home continues to get the attention of the mainstream media. PS3's large network of Cell-enabled PS3 systems has significantly boosted the abilities of Stanford University's research program. So much so, in fact, that the program recently was recognized by the Guinness Records. Over 670,000 unique PS3 users have registered to the Folding@home network, and combined they have achieved the petaflop mark on September 23, 2007. This has placed the program as the most powerful distributed computing network ever. "To have Folding@home recognized by Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network ever is a reflection of the extraordinary worldwide participation by gamers and consumers around the world and for that we are very grateful," said Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home project lead. "Without them we would not be able to make the advancements we have made in our studies of several different diseases. But it is clear that none of this would be even remotely possible without the power of PS3, it has increased our research capabilities by leaps and bounds." "To have PS3 play such a large role in allowing Folding@home to be honored by Guinness World Records is truly incredible," said Masayuki Chatani, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Technology Platform, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "This record is clear evidence of the power of PS3 and the contributions that it is making to the Folding@home network, and more importantly, scientific research."
Samsung adds three phones to Guinness Book of World records
Samsung can add a few notches in its belt with news that a couple of Ultra line of handsets -- and an older model -- made the Guinness Book of World Records for 2008. Award for thinnest handset in a leading role goes to the 0.2 inch thin -- as a size comparison, the MotoRAZR MAXX is only 0.2 inches thinner than the V3x -- Ultra Edition 5.9. Setting a record for thinnest 3G phone is the Ultra Edition 8.4, with the record breaking 10 megapixel SCH-B600 taking top honors for, you guessed it, most megapixels. Not a bad outing by the Korean monster, now we'll all have to wait to see who can beat the venerable "Phone that totally blew Engadget Mobile's mind" record which is currently held by... err, nobody.
Shane Kim on Shadowrun's $10 PC to 360 price difference
Some men should be given a reward for giving eloquent and elongated responses to questions without ever really answering them. Take Shane Kim, for example. When asked by Newsweek's N'Gai Croal why Shadowrun on the Xbox 360 cost $10 more than the identical PC version, Microsoft Games Studios' corporate vice president could have simply said "because we can." (Remember, folks, before Gears of War, Microsoft was selling their first-party titles for the old standard of $49.99.)Nay, this wordsmith saw a canvas on which he could be poetic! "[These] price points are our standard pricing for each platform ... This pricing structure is not uncommon in the multiplayer-only first-person shooter genre, as numerous titles have seen success at this price point and gaming model." Do we have an answer as to how Microsoft can justify screwing console owners out of ten dollars? No. Have we witnessed a moment of linguistic triumph? Yes. Brilliant!
Guinness to legitimize couch potatoes with video game records
Guinness is poised to release a new series of record books with specific themes, and the first one is titled Guinness World Records Videogame Edition 2008. The tome will include stats on "which pro gamers earn the most money," "fastest times," "sales figures," and this perplexing nugget: "the single highest score ever achieved in a game." Really? It seems like anyone could easily beat that record by creating their own game with ridiculous scoring. ("Press 'x' to score eleventy bajillion points, to the power of infinity.") But who are we to criticize? We should just be psyched that somebody's making us feel like we're achieving something by spending the next month with a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels and Super Paper Mario.
Singaporean yoinks fastest text messager crown
These haven't been a great couple of months for Mr. Ben Cook of Utah. Just weeks after the then-world's fastest text messager got shown up by some newfangled voice recognition system, a 16 year old from Singapore has stripped him of his geekalicious title -- pending verification by the Guinness Book of World Records, of course. To accomplish the feat, Ang Chuang Yang banged out the same 160-character nonsense as Ben Cook had to (as did several others before them), but managed to do it a solid 0.7 seconds faster with a total time of 41.52 seconds. Even more impressive, in order to be official the feat has to be accomplished without predictive text enabled, and to top it all off, Ang apparently chose some crappy Nokia to make it all happen. Our hats go off to you, sir.[Via textually.org]
